12.20
kane mudra la-i’ muni ha-iba bhikhari
rajya-bhoga nahe citte vina gaurahari
SYNONYMS
kane mudra—a kind of earring; la-i’—taking; muni—I; ha-iba—shall become; bhikhari—a beggar; rajya-bhoga—enjoyment of the kingdom; nahe—not; citte—in the mind; vina—without; gaurahari—Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
Nityananda Prabhu continued, “The King has decided to become a mendicant and accept the sign of a mendicant by wearing an ivory earring.
He does not want to enjoy his kingdom without seeing the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.”
PURPORT
In India there is still a class of professional mendicants who are very much like the gypsies of Western countries.
They know some magical art and mystical processes, and their business is to beg from door to door, sometimes pleading and sometimes threatening.
Such mendicants are sometimes called yogis and sometimes kanaphata yogis.
The word kanaphata refers to one who has put a hole in his ear to wear an earring made of ivory.
Maharaja Prataparudra was so depressed by not getting to see Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu that he decided to become such a yogi.
Ordinary men think that a yogi must have an ivory earring in his ear, but this is not the sign of a real yogi.
Maharaja Prataparudra also thought that to become a mendicant yogi, one must wear such an earring.